1400 expats register to return home on own expense

Department of Immigration and Emigration has revealed that 1405 undocumented workers have registered to return to their home countries as part of the department’s program to facilitate for workers who wish to return on their own flight tickets.

Chief Principal Immigration Officer Saeed Mohamed told Sun that the number is expected to exceed 1500 by 2:00 p.m today.

“Some foreigners come to us with purchased tickets. The registration will continue until 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. I estimated around 1000, but now we think about 2000 workers will register to go back on their own expenses,” Saeed said.

The department has set up a special post in Dharumavantha School, open between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on working days, for workers to voluntarily register to be sent back. The workers must first obtain a document from the relevant embassy or consulate, indicating the person’s nationality, before the post can help facilitate in the person’s departure.

The department has said that individuals sent back under this program can return to Maldives after 6 months, but the undocumented workers who do not seek this program will be deported, barring them from entering the Maldives for 10 years.

Immigration Department has recently undertaken a concerted effort to mitigate the ever-increasing migrant issue in the Maldives. However, the department has yet to conduct a census of undocumented workers in the country.